Got a cracked, uneven floor or a space that needs one? We pour a level slab and plan its drying around your flooring.
Concrete floor installation in Auburn, WA means pouring a new slab to serve as the floor of a room, shop, garage or addition, built on a packed base and finished level so it can stay bare or take tile, wood or carpet later.
Most people call because they have a space that needs a floor, like a new addition or a shop, or an old slab that has cracked, sunk or gone uneven and has to come out. D&R Auburn Concrete is based in Auburn, and we do this work here and in the cities around it, including Kent, Renton, Federal Way, Tacoma and Lake Tapps.
The price moves first with the size of the floor in square feet. After that it depends on whether old concrete has to come out, how much digging and packing the base needs, whether the slab gets rebar and how easily concrete reaches the spot. Your own figure comes in the written estimate I give you after I've seen the space.
The schedule turns on the weather on pour day and on any permit. Most of all, it turns on what goes on top, because a slab under flooring has to dry well past the day you can walk on it. A floor that stays bare is in use much sooner.
Most of what makes a floor last is out of sight by the end of pour day. These are the three things I watch most closely on every floor we put in.
The subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, has to be dug out and packed hard, not just raked level, or the floor will settle with the dirt. It's hidden on day one, so it's the first thing people want to trim from a budget. I'd rather spend the money there and keep the finish simple, because no finish saves a slab on a soft base.
Control joints are shallow cuts that give the slab a planned place to crack as it shrinks. If they're cut late or skipped, the cracks pick their own spots, often right across the middle of the room. We cut them while the concrete is still young and lay them out where you'll notice them least.
Concrete that's poured or finished in the heat of the day can dry too fast on top and leave a weak, dusty surface later. Curing, the slow wait while concrete gains strength, needs time and moisture, so we plan pour day around the weather and keep everyone off the floor until it's ready.
From the first call to the final walkthrough, here's who does what, so you know who you're talking to at each step and what comes next.
Call (253) 275-5460 or send the form with the floor's size in square feet, whether it's indoors and any flooring you plan to put on top. We'll set a time for me to come out.
I check the space, the old floor if there is one and which office covers your address. Then I write up an estimate that lists what's included, such as taking out old concrete and cleaning up afterward.
Once you're ready, we take care of any permit paperwork and set the pour date. Our crew digs out and packs the base, sets the forms, then pours and finishes the floor.
I walk the finished floor with you and go over when it can take foot traffic, furniture and flooring, so nothing goes on it too soon.
If flooring is going over the slab, we plan the moisture barrier and the drying time around it from the start, so your installer isn't laying over damp concrete. That's why I like to know early whether you want tile, wood, carpet or a coating, because it changes what goes under the slab and how long the floor needs before anything goes on top.
Our crew places the concrete, levels it and trowels the top smooth. An indoor floor doesn't need a broom finish, the dragged texture that gives feet some grip on a driveway or patio. If your plans reach past the floor, the same care goes into our concrete pool decks and concrete steps, where a good base matters just as much.
Rebar, the steel bars set inside the slab, holds the concrete together if it cracks and helps it carry weight, and it adds to the cost. For a shop or any floor that takes heavy loads, I'd put it in.
A floor that stays bare puts the finish on show, so the troweling matters most. A floor going under tile, wood or carpet hides the finish, but its barrier has to be planned and its drying time built into your schedule.
We reply within one business day and set a time for me to come out and look at the space. The on-site estimate is free, and there's no pressure to book.
(253) 275-5460In Auburn, the city's Building Services division issues building permits and inspects permitted construction, additions and alterations. I won't guess whether your floor needs a permit. Before we schedule, we confirm whether your address falls under the city or the county, and we handle the applications when your job needs one. You can also ask the city's Permit Center at 253-931-3090, option 2.
Washington requires every construction contractor to register with the state Department of Labor & Industries, known as L&I, and state law requires them to be bonded and insured. The bond only protects you when the contractor you hire is registered, so it's worth checking before you sign with anyone, us included. I've put how to check in the questions below.
Around Auburn and in nearby Kent and Renton, most of our floor calls are for shops, additions, outbuildings and older slabs that have cracked and settled. The work is the same in each city. It starts with the base and ends with a slab that's cured and ready for whatever goes on top.
I grew up on a family farm, where fixing what broke was part of every week, and I learned concrete on other people's crews before starting D&R Auburn Concrete. We've been in business since 2013. That's 13 years of pouring slabs and seeing which ones held up. I still come out myself to look at your floor and write the estimate.
Our crew lead runs the work on site, and I check in while it's underway, so someone you've met is answering for the job each day. We're licensed and insured. Our promise is the same on every floor. Your satisfaction, guaranteed. When you're ready to talk it through, call (253) 275-5460 or use our contact form.
If your new room opens onto a pool, a deck built on a well-packed base keeps the surface around the water from shifting, and it's finished for grip.
When a new floor sits higher or lower than the yard or porch, solid concrete steps give everyone a safe, even way in and out.
We're based in Auburn and pour floors across the cities around it. The cities listed here have their own pages, and if yours isn't among them, give us a call and ask.
In nearby Tacoma, a concrete slab or pad usually runs about $6 to $13 per square foot before any staining or stamping. A reinforced slab costs more per square foot than a plain pad, and taking out an old floor adds to the job. I'll give you your own figure in writing after I've seen the space.
For an indoor floor, the usual advice is yes. A 2004 industry sheet advises a vapor retarder, a layer that blocks ground moisture, under every interior floor slab, while outdoor slabs on the ground generally go without. The concrete industry's floor guide says flooring and coatings get the most protection when that layer sits right against the slab, so it's fair to ask any crew where they'll place it.
A new slab should take foot traffic within 48 hours. Waiting a week before heavier loads is the safe choice, since concrete takes about a month to fully cure. Flooring waits longer. A flooring-industry rule of thumb allows a month of drying for each inch of concrete, and home floor slabs typically run 4 to 6 inches thick, so plan for several months.
Some cracking and curling, where the slab's edges lift slightly, is expected in any concrete floor, and even the most advanced design and building methods can't remove it completely. What we can do is cut down on it and steer it, with a packed base and joints cut on time, as described above.
You can check a contractor's registration and bond amount at ProtectMyHome.net or by calling 1-800-647-0982, as Washington L&I lays out. Do it before you sign anything, because the bond only covers you when the contractor is registered.
Clear the space and the path in from the driveway, because the concrete comes in by chute, pump or wheelbarrow and the crew needs room to work. Have your flooring choice made before I write the estimate. It's also worth asking how we'll time the finishing, jointing and curing, since the industry's floor guide calls that timing critical.
Call (253) 275-5460 or use our form before you order tile, wood or carpet, so the drying time is built into your schedule instead of squeezed.
